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“Darcy, I don’t have a choice. Asher and Brandon are my family, and they must be in trouble. I’m going after them.”
“Because going after people has worked so well up to now.”
I got an angry glare for my trouble, and he turned and started back to the lodge, no doubt to write his message to Harrison and start packing. I followed right along behind him.
“If you go, then I’m going with you.”
“Don’t be ridiculous.”
“I don’t think I’m the one being ridiculous here.” I caught up with his long strides and pulled on his arm. “Listen to me.”
He whirled around to face me. “What? What would you have me do, Darcy? Allow my omega to accompany me on a dangerous, maybe even deadly journey?”
“Well, what do you expect me to do, Wyatt? Sit here and wait for you to maybe come back? What if you don’t?”
“I’ll come back, and I’ll bring Asher and Brandon with me.”
“Again, what if you don’t?”
He blew out a long breath and tried to take my hand, but I jerked it away.
“Look, baby…”
“Don’t you ‘baby’ me. I just got you, and I’m not ready to lose you.”
“That won’t happen.”
“You can’t promise me that. Listen to what I’m saying and forget all those ideas you have about omegas. They’re all wrong anyway. For once, see me. See who I really am and not some messed up Alpha notion of what I am. I’m pretty strong, you know—strong enough to decide that I didn’t want to live as an omega until I found you. I still don’t, actually, but I do want to be with you, so if that’s what it takes…”
“Darcy, be reasonable. I’m not taking you into danger. It’s out of the question.”
“I’m smarter than you give me credit for, you know. I found Barbarosa Lagoon and got her to give me a potion. It would have worked too, if it hadn’t been for you.”
“Darcy…”
“No, listen to what I’m saying! I’m a victim of my nature, and I can’t change it. Or I could for a while, but eventually, even that didn’t work. It doesn’t mean I’m stupid, though, and you need to wrap your mind around that, or I don’t think we have any real future. I may not have been the greatest soldier, but I was making it work—and making my own way in the world, and with no help from any Alpha. Then I met you, and...”
I wanted to tell him that I’d fallen in love, but I couldn’t. Not because it wasn’t true. I did love him, and I had never been surer of anything. Did that mean I was simple-minded, or maybe that I was smarter and more in touch with my feelings than he was?
But I didn’t tell him, because I knew something else too. He didn’t feel the same way about me. Oh, he loved to fuck me, and he even seemed to enjoy “taking care” of me. That washisnature. But when it came to being in love with me—not so much.
How could he be though, really? He was rich and noble, and I was a nobody. And now I was exhibiting what most Alphas would call “typical omega behavior.” Falling madly in love with the first Alpha who came along and showed me attention didn’t exactly strengthen my position.
Hell, maybe it was typical omega behavior. Maybe I was just doomed to repeat my mother’s mistake of loving someone who didn’t love me back. I was still willing to wait and give Wyatt time to catch up. It might be possible that he’d come to love me in time. And for now, if I had to be in love all by myself for a while, then I could manage. After all, if I could love Wyatt and keep on loving him without him returning that sentiment . . . then at least I’d know that what I felt must be real love and not an infatuation. It hurt too much to be anything else.
My omega mother had tried to navigate the same swamp I now found myself in. When she first met my father—according to what my aunt had told me—she had fallen head over heels for him at first sight. He was young and handsome, though cruel with the knowledge of his good looks, in the way of those people who love themselves much more than they could ever love anyone else. At first, my mother had been flattered, not to mention happy and excited to leave with my father when he came to her house to ask for her.
Not that she didn’t see his faults. My Aunt Rudmilla said she thought my mother saw them quite clearly—she was a bright girl, after all, despite what my father believed about her. But knowing it didn’t affect the feelings she had for him, or at least not enough. Even though he was mean and miserly with his affection outside of the copious sex he demanded, he was still the object of all her love and desire, which was as extravagant and colorful as the most beautiful wildflowers in the fields. Eventually, his despicable behavior and the way he treated her beat down even her love. He trampled on her feelings and crushed them down, but somehow, they stubbornly remained alive, struggling to stand back up again and seek the warmth of the sun again.
Was I acting like my mother? Refusing to see that Wyatt would not only never treat me as his equal, but he’d never really see me as much more than a kind of pet that he owned. Was it too much to hope that he’d fall in love with me?
“Darcy…” Wyatt said again, breaking me out of my thoughts, his voice condescending and dripping with patience as he tried to “handle” me. “Listen to what I’m telling you. This mission is far too dangerous for you to be involved in it. It’s out of the question. Now let’s go back inside. You were right about one thing—I need to send a message to Harrison and then get ready to travel. You should probably pack too.” He held up a hand at my surprised expression. “No, not to come with me, but to go home to your aunt and uncle while I’m gone. I don’t like to leave you here with only the servants for company. It’s far too remote and not what you’re used to. Get ready—I’ll take you home for a visit on my way to Crillia and the baron’s castle.”
****
Two Weeks Later
“Darcy, you know what they say about a watched pot never boiling,” Rudmilla said. “You keep staring down that road like you think you’ll see your Alpha coming any minute. Come for a walk with me instead.” She held out a hand enticingly to me. “It will be just like old times. I need to pick some marigolds to make an ointment for your uncle’s rash.”
